Virus concerns may force a change to campaigning
Candidates could curtail large rallies, fundraisers, door-knocking
President Donald Trump’s bombastic rallies, which fill red-state stadiums with signwaving, cheering fans, helped pave his path to the White House. And Sen. Bernie Sanders has energized his base of young supporters with his own massive gatherings where he rails against the power of the ultra-rich.
But with coronavirus spreading around the country and the number of cases topping 1,000 and rising at startling rates, one of the presidential campaigns’ key tools for motivating voters may be off the table for the immediate future.
“Nothing can replace the energy you get from a rally,” said Ben LaBolt, a Democratic strategist in San Francisco and a spokesman for President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. “But part of working on a campaign is preparing to be overtaken by events,
partment to monitor the situation as well as the health and safety of our employees and the traveling public,” the agency said in the statement.
TSA declined to answer any questions beyond this initial statement, including when the officers tested positive for the potentially deadly respiratory disease or where they were stationed in the airport.
County health officials said in a statement that they aren’t recommending the airport be closed “given the significant societal harms lack of access to travel would cause,” but added “we continue to recommend that persons at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 avoid all air travel, and that businesses cancel non-essential travel.”
Some who had traveled through the airport this week found that news concerning. Eddie Elenez, 60, of Dallas said he flew home through SJC on Monday after a two-week business trip and had spent Tuesday caring for his granddaughter before hearing the news about the TSA workers.
“It’s really unsettling,” Elenez said. “I came home thinking everything was fine because I feel great, I spent half a day taking care of my 3-year-old granddaughter, then I wake up this morning and find out there’s a chance that I came into contact with somebody.”
“The public messaging I’ve seen is that we’ve had three agents who tested positive and don’t worry we’re taking care of our agents,” he added. “Zero mention of the potential thousands of passengers who could have come into contact with these three agents, zero about whether
they could have been exposed and where they can get information.”
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Cindy Chavez and U.S. Reps. Anna G. Eshoo, Zoe Lofgren, Ro Khanna and Jimmy Panetta demanded Wednesday that the TSA provide more information about the potential threat to travelers.
“If these employees were not in direct contact with travelers, we seek to reassure consumers,” they said in a joint statement. “However, if the employees were posted at security checkpoints and had direct contact with travelers, we believe more information about posting locations and shift times should be made available to the public.”
Carolyn Bauer, a TSA officer at the airport for the past 11 years and the union’s
legislative political coordinator, said that the agents worked during the night shift, and were stationed at Terminal B, where Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines operate. Regardless of which checkpoint the workers were at, Bauer said, they could have come into contact with members of the public.
Both the security checkpoint and check-in areas were deep-cleaned this week, Bauer said. She said 42 workers have been placed in quarantine — and remain at home on administrative pay — after coming into contact with those who tested positive.
“We want the traveling public to realize our airport has taken the protections and precautions required, and gone over and above them,” Bauer said.
Employees have also been given the option of wearing masks and are disinfecting materials like bins more frequently, Bauer said, though she conceded that some airport workers remain “anxious.” More broadly, the union is more concerned about employees who operate shuttle buses in enclosed spaces, in contrast to working in open-air checkpoints.
Many travelers at SJC on Wednesday were largely unfazed by the news about the TSA employees.
“I’m not worried about it,” said Jose Castaneda of San Jose as he waited to board a flight to Guadalajara, Mexico. He said he’s been observing the medical guidance to wash hands and avoid the sick but saw no need to wear a face mask at the airport. “When my day comes, my day comes. I’m 80 years old.”
Tampong Yooyen, 30, of Sunnyvale wore a mask through the airport “just as a precaution” as he returned from a ski trip to Utah — something he said he does when he goes out in crowded places. But Yooyen said he had no extra concern about the infected TSA employees.
Mo Kapila, 51, of Los Angeles, who also wore a mask as he arrived at the San Jose airport on a business trip, said he worried more about the effectiveness of screening travelers from coronavirus hot zones in China or Italy than TSA employees.
Meanwhile, travelers like Jose Hernandez, 52, of San Jose said they are just following the general guidance to avoid infections.
“It’s a lot going on,” Hernandez said. “I try to hear what the doctors say and take precautions — use hand sanitizer, wash your hands, don’t touch your face.”
Santa Clara County Public Health Department declined to comment on any specifics of the TSA cases, but said that the county’s overall confirmed case count remains at 45 — indicating that the three officers are among those confirmed cases.
The health department is following up on cases that had “close contacts” with others, the statement said.
“The risk of transmission is extremely low for individuals who aren’t in close proximity for an extended period of time,” the department said. “Risk would be higher when sitting in close proximity to a person for multiple hours versus quick contact passing by an individual in a mall.”
To date, at least one person, a woman in her 60s with chronic health conditions, has died of COVID-19 in the county.
Airport spokesman Scott Wintner said the airport was aware of the positive test results.
“The airport has and continues to follow the county of Santa Clara Public Health Department’s guidance for preventing the spread of COVID-19,” Wintner said in an email, “and remains open for business, providing a high level of services for our customers.”
Meanwhile at Los Angeles International Airport, two Department of Homeland Security contractors who performed airport screenings on passengers arriving from China have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting additional workers there to quarantine themselves. On Tuesday, both union and nonunion airport workers at LAX hosted a news conference to raise concerns that workers lack proper training and equipment to protect themselves — and passengers — from contracting the virus.
Last year, the San Jose airport served 15.7 million passengers.